


Small Bump

by rach320



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Smallville, Superman (Comics), Superman - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Grief/Mourning, Loss, Miscarriage, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-26 01:41:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9856361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rach320/pseuds/rach320
Summary: I was reading an article about miscarriages and dealing with them on social media and this popped into my mind. I based my Lois and Clark more off of Smallville's interpretation, but I purposefully kept descriptions vague so it could probably work with whatever Lois and Clark people like (granted, as long as it's a universe that allows interspecies pregnancy, but that's a different story).Warning: this does deal with miscarriage, I tried to be as accurate as possible, but I'm not a doctor. I was just trying to write about a common issue and how people move past it.





	

They had had trouble getting pregnant.

 

After they had gotten married, it hadn’t taken long for them to see if they could have a baby together, one with her eyes and Clark’s smile. And after a long series of tests from Star Labs, they discovered that Clark, Kryptonian and all, could indeed have healthy children with Lois, a human, and that the baby could be carried to term without any extra issues. It had filled them with joy to discover and they had immediately started trying.

 

But it hadn’t been easy.

 

It had been many months of trying and false alarms. Often Clark would be in the middle of a save when he’d pick up on Lois’ voice, telling him that she was ovulating, and he would fly halfway across the world as quickly as possible. There had been many negative tests despite all their efforts. Lois often lamented that so many people got pregnant by accident and yet she and her husband, who were trying for a baby, were struggling so much.

 

But then finally, finally, after almost a year of trying, Lois fell pregnant.

 

They had been overjoyed and barely able to contain their happiness. But both wanted to be careful, considering how long it had taken them to fall pregnant. So they had decided to wait until the last minute when Lois started showing to share the news. No one but the couple, their doctor and a few select friends knew and Lois and Clark wanted it that way. The pregnancy was healthy so far and while it was getting harder to make excuses for Lois’ sudden aversion to coffee and random bouts of sickness, they were both experienced with making excuses.

 

Secrecy aside, nothing could stop their joy. Clark would often lay his head against her stomach, listening to the steady beat of their baby’s heart while Lois’ fingers tangled in his hair, thanking her over and over again for giving him the most precious gift. Lois started working on a pregnancy plan with her military precision, delving into every aspect of pregnancy with the same vigour she did everything in her life. They had even started considering where to move to when the baby would eventually go to school, finding the best school districts in the city.

 

Anything for their baby.

 

Lois had been returning from an interview with a mayoral candidate when someone bumped into her, pushing her to the ground. She rolled so that back took most of the impact, several people nearby helping her up and scolding the person who had pushed into her so roughly. Lois had levelled her best gaze on the man, a harried business with his phone glued to his ear, pleased when the man had seemed to shrink several inches under her glare. After properly scolding him, she had finally moved on, hand ghosting lightly against her stomach.

 

Ever since she had found out she was pregnant, Lois had taken extra care to be safe. She had refused to follow dangerous leads without Clark or Jimmy with her, had taken less risks to get the story, often leaving the trickier parts to Clark. Sure, it was a break from her normal personality, but she wasn’t going to risk anything. There was another person relying on her now.

 

It would figure that the first time something like that happened, it was some random jackass.

 

Cursing the person who made her fall the whole way up to her office, she quickly closed the door and called her doctor, detailing the situation. The doctor had expressed mild concern, but told Lois not to worry. The impact hadn’t been directly on her just beginning to show bump and that unless she experienced cramping or bleeding, there was likely nothing to worry about. Nevertheless, Lois scheduled an appointment for later that day, knowing that Clark would want the reassurance.

 

After being assured once more by the doctor that everything was fine, Lois went back to work, beginning to type up the article on the interview. Her hand rested against her small bump, the safe confines of her office allowing such a maternal gesture to be displayed. She shot a text to Clark, who was out following a lead but would be back soon, about the appointment. His worried response quickly followed, but she assured him that the doctor had said that everything was likely fine and that this was just to be sure. After a steady warning that no, he was not allowed to sic Superman on the jackass who had pushed her over, she got up from her desk, intent on finding Jimmy and seeing if he had any photos of the mayoral candidate from his candidacy announcement for her to include in her article.

 

Lois got half way to Jimmy’s office when a sharp pain radiated from her lower back to across the front of her stomach. Warning bells sounded internally and changing paths, Lois quickly rushed to the bathroom, hoping upon hope that there wouldn’t be any blood. That everything would be fine. She was almost fifteen weeks, she was supposed to be in the safe zone now. Every expert always said that if you could make it past twelve weeks, the risk of any problems significantly dropped.

 

Of course, that was when some jackass didn’t knock you on your ass on a busy sidewalk because he was too much in a rush to consider other people.

 

Rushing past Cat in the bathroom, Lois slammed the stall door behind her, leaving her sometimes friend confused. Quickly, Lois checked for blood, relieved that there wasn’t a lot, but concerned that what was there was bright red. All of Lois’ reading indicated that occasional spotting in the early stages was okay, but bright red was a warning sign. Especially considering the possible trauma her body had just endured in the fall.

 

“No.” She breathed quietly, shaking her head. No, everything had to be okay. They had an appointment this afternoon and the doctor said that everything was likely fine and everything would be okay.

 

It had to be.

 

“Lois?” Cat asked as Lois stepped out of the stall, quickly fixing her appearance in the mirror. No one in the office even knew that she was pregnant, she couldn’t let her worry show. “Are you alright?”

 

“I’m fine, Cat.” Lois replied stiffly. She paused. Cat was a mother herself, though that was sometimes easy to forget. Of course, Cat obviously hadn’t had a miscarriage because she was a mother, but she had to know about pregnancy, didn’t she? And Lois could field some questions to her and hopefully ease her worries. 

 

“Actually—“ Any question Lois was about to ask was stopped when she winced in pain, that same pain from earlier radiating throughout her lower torso. She hunched over, gripping tightly onto the counter as she felt her underwear dampen.

 

The likely fluid was not something that Lois wanted to think about.

 

“Lois, what’s wrong?” Cat asked, wrapping her arms around Lois’ shoulders.

 

The concern in Cat’s eyes would normally have been comforting, but Cat wasn’t who Lois needed right now. “Cat,” she ordered, fighting to keep her voice steady. “I need you to call a cab for me and I need you to find Clark, he should be getting back right about now.”

 

“Lois—“

 

“Now, Cat.”

 

Wavering slightly at leaving Lois alone, Cat followed orders and quickly whipped out her phone to call a cab. Lois watched as the bathroom door swung upon as Cat exited, pushing her way through the newsroom to find Lois’ clumsy husband.

 

Righting herself, Lois went to retrieve her purse, trying to only think positive thoughts. While every part of her wanted to get Clark to fly her to the hospital, Lois didn’t want to take a chance that flying would disrupt things further. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as she thought. Maybe there would be something that the doctor’s could do to stop what Lois feared was happening from happening. Some drug or something. After all, this baby was part Kryptonian, that ensured that it’s genes were hardier than most. Not only that, but this baby was a Lane and Lanes were tough.

 

Lois just had to reassure herself that her peanut, as they had taken to calling the baby, would be safe. She couldn’t let her panic show, she needed to be calm, needed to remain calm, both for her and Clark’s sake.

 

Grabbing her purse from their office, she slung it over her shoulder and began making her way towards the elevator. The cab would hopefully be here soon and Lois wanted to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

 

Yet another cramp hit her, this time worse than before, as she walked past Perry’s office. She couldn’t help but cry out, the emotions mounting inside her at the thought of loosing her baby combining with the pain of the cramps to make everything seem so much worse. Several people around her stopped at the sound of the formidable Lois Lane in pain, Perry, who had been talking to Jimmy in his office, poking his head out the door.

 

“Everything okay, Lane?” He inquired, Jimmy’s head poking out from behind their editor.

 

Her knuckles were white as she gripped tightly onto the strap of her purse, one hand wrapped protectively around her stomach. She bit hard on her bottom lip, drawing blood. One, two, shaky breaths and the pain was over. Tears in her eyes, she looked up at her editor and shook her head.

 

“I don’t think so.” She replied, her voice watery.

 

Clark sprinted up the stairs at that point, Cat right behind him. “Lois!” He called, rushing towards his wife. He probably sounded a bit too much like Superman at that moment, but the panic of Cat had bombarding him at the entry of the Planet, speaking frantically about how something wasn’t right with Lois, had worked him into a frenzy, the worst case scenarios appearing in his brain and now apparently happening before his eyes.

 

The newsroom drew to a standstill as Clark enveloped his wife in his arms, supporting her as she tried her best to keep her breathing steady. Even the most raucous among them quieted, from the gossip columnists to the sports reporters. Perry and Jimmy had now completely exited the editor’s office, eyes glued to the couple, unaware of just how much the Daily Planet’s star reporting team’s life was currently unravelling.

 

“Baby, what’s wrong?” He asked quietly, fighting to keep calm with Lois so quickly falling apart.

 

“I… I started cramping.” She replied. “About an hour after, after the fall. And I checked in the bathroom and I’m bleeding, Clark. I’m bleeding.”

 

He inhaled sharply, slinging his arm around her waist and righting her. “Come on, we need to get you to the hospital.”

 

“Hospital?” Perry asked gruffly.

 

“Lois, Clark, the cab is here.” Cat announced, holding her phone up. The woman’s eyes were all knowing as she looked at the couple, clearly being able to glean from her own knowledge and from Lois’ symptoms just what was going on. “I paid for it already and told them it was an emergency. Just get to the hospital.”

 

“Thank you, Cat.” Clark responded. “Come on, Lo, honey, we need to move, we need to—“

 

Lois was bawling at this point, that feeling in her gut telling her what news the doctor would tell them. It didn’t matter if the fact that seeing Lois Lane cry was sending the newsroom into a tizzy, she couldn’t hold back the tears. Not when they were a quick ride away from finding out that they had lost their baby.

 

“I’m so sorry, Clark—“

 

Clark shook his head, cutting her off. “No.” He said firmly. “No. Don’t start blaming this on yourself. This was unavoidable, Lois. We can hurt that bastard for knocking you over later, but right now, we’re getting you to the hospital. We need…” He took in a deep breath. “We need confirmation that you’re… That we’re loosing… And then we’ll deal with it, okay?”

 

She nodded her head shakily in reply and Clark quickly rushed her to the stairs, Lois’ feet barely even touching the ground as he aimed to get them to the hospital as quickly as possible.

 

“Cat, what’s going on?” Perry asked, the old newshound’s curiosity getting the better of him.

 

Lois could just hear Cat stutter around her reply, feeling that it wasn’t in her place to share the news, but knowing that the answer would have to come out given the public venue of the exchange.

 

“Oh, Perry…” She sighed. “I think… I think Lois is… Was… Pregnant. I think she’s having a miscarriage.”

 

The collective gasp of the newsroom was the last thing Lois heard before Clark whisked her down to the lobby and into the cab.

 

The cab ride to the hospital was wracked with silence. Lois gripped Clark’s hand whenever what Lois had now identified as a contraction went through her body, each one confirming what she already knew deep inside of her. They had lost their baby. The one that they had tried so hard for and planned so much for. Neither of them spoke, both professional writers who were unable to find the correct words for their situation.

 

The cabbie pulled up to Met Gen and Clark practically carried Lois out of the cab and into the hospital, yelling for anyone to listen; His wife was having a miscarriage and they needed help immediately. The hospital was relatively quiet, and Lois was quickly put in a wheelchair and they were directed towards a room, where the OBGYN on call quickly joined them.

 

“I’m so sorry.” The doctor’s expression was heartfelt, but the words felt hollow to the recipients, who’s hearts were the unique combination of shattered and numb that one can only experience when feeling overwhelming grieve. “You’re indeed miscarrying. The fall caused a placental abruption. The only thing that I can recommend at this point is a D & C to speed things along and make things less painful for you, Mrs. Lane-Kent.”

 

Lois nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

 

Clark spoke for her. “Whatever you think is right, Doctor. Just… Let me stay with my wife.”

 

“Of course.”

 

The next moments were a flurry of doctors and nurses and then finally, finally, the pain stopped as abruptly as it had started. Their regular doctor had been contacted and Lois and Clark listened numbly as their options were presented in front of them. It all felt so clinical. They had lost their child, their peanut, and yet their baby was being talked about in such medical terms. The foetus, their doctor said, could be cremated, which the couple agreed too, wanting to spread the ashes in Smallville, so that the baby would at least know the place that meant so much to both of its parents.

 

“I know you had difficulty conceiving,” the doctor started slowly, “but this miscarriage doesn’t mean anything about your chances of having a healthy child naturally. Unfortunately, especially given the fall you had, Lois, miscarriages are quite common, more common than anyone believes. Let the wound heal, but I’d encourage you to start trying again. In fact, some research even shows that if you conceive again in the first six months after a miscarriage, the next pregnancy is less likely to miscarry.” The doctor sighed at the couple’s stricken faces, knowing that no words she could say could make the loss any easier. “I recommend that you come in a week from now, Lois, just to make sure that everything is okay.”

 

Clark was the first to speak after the doctor left the room. “I’m going to kill that bastard.”

 

“Clark—“

 

“No! You were being so safe and careful and following the doctor’s orders to a T and then that bastard comes along and—“

 

“Clark!” Lois cupped his face, rubbing her thumb across his cheekbones until he eventually calmed down, fists unclenching. “You heard what the doctor said. We did… We did everything that we could. And maybe… Maybe everything happens for a reason. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to be a Mom.”

 

“Lois…” Clark whispered, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “One day, you will be a wonderful mother. You’ll be caring and protective and our kid will know just how much you love him or her.” He sighed, curling her against his chest as she sobbed, the loss hitting them both. “We can try again, when you’re ready. You heard what the doctor said. We’ll grieve and then we’ll… We’ll try again.”

 

She sniffled, drying her tears against his shirt. “Can we call your Mom?”

 

Martha was one of the few who knew about the pregnancy, though the couple had been planning on announcing it soon. And they would need her by their side as they dealt with their grief.

 

Lois and Clark spent the rest of the day in their apartment, Martha coming in quickly from Smallville. The league quickly learned of the news, Bruce flying from Gotham as an ambassador of sorts in order to not overwhelm the couple as they worked through the mess of emotions they were dealing with.

 

Lois was fighting her grief that it was her who had lost the baby. Her job as mother was to keep their baby safe inside her womb and she had failed. It had been unpreventable, everyone had said, but she had still failed in the most basic of ways. She was the one who had lost their baby.

 

Clark had to deal with that fact that he was Superman. He could stop earthquakes and fight alien invasions off almost single-handedly, but he couldn’t have stopped this. This, this awful, awful thing, was completely beyond his control. All he could do was hold his wife as his mother cooked in the kitchen and Bruce sat stoically across from them, not having the words to say but knowing that they needed him there, that they needed someone from outside their family to tell them that it wasn’t their fault, that it was all going to be okay.

 

The pitying stares at work were the worst. Cat, for all her motherly wisdom, had never had a miscarriage, had never lost a child. Jimmy was just a plucky young kid, unsure of how to deal with such a loss when he had experienced none in his young life. Perry did what he did best, keeping them both busy with assignments and knowing that that was what they needed. But the whole office walked on eggshells, unsure how to comfort the grieving couple.

 

The day they spread their baby’s ashes on Clark’s family farm, they stayed awake that night, talking about what their baby would have looked like, who’s personality he or she would have had. It was a bittersweet conversation, bringing up painful memories of their baby who would they would never get to hold, but it was oddly comforting. A discussion tinged with sadness, but also with hope. That baby would never get to know just how strong his father was or how tenacious his mother was, but wherever their peanut was, it was with Clark’s father and Lois’ mother, and they had to hope that their peanut would be taken care of in whatever followed this life.

 

A month from that day, they were ready to try again.

 

Three months to the day that they had decided to try again, Lois announced she was three weeks pregnant. The announcement wasn’t as joyous as the last, both quite aware of just how quickly tides could change and just how fragile that growing life was. But with every appointment their doctor assured that that the baby was developing perfectly and that both mother and child were healthy.

 

Perry was brought into the fold early on this time around, their editor’s eyes grave as he understood the reasoning for the couple’s early admittance. Lois would remain mostly around the office and when she went out, Clark would always be with her. His overprotective streak as he got between her and every other person on the sidewalk drove Lois insane, but the memory of their miscarriage was still so fresh, so she never snapped at him. 

 

At twenty weeks, they made their pregnancy public knowledge. Lois was showing and no amount of baggy shirts would hide her developing bump anymore. Cat had been the first to congratulate them, giving Lois advice on everything from teething to colic and everything in between. Everyone else soon fell in line, treating the announcement as they would every other pregnancy announcement and pushing the memory of watching Lois’ eyes panic as she realised that she was miscarrying out of their mind.

 

This was a happy moment.

 

At thirty-seven weeks, Lois went into labor. She had been working in the office, where Perry had restricted her once she had entered her third trimester. Lois had been in the middle of the newsroom, yelling at Jimmy during one of her famous mood swings, when her water broke. She had been feeling odd all day, but had dismissed Clark’s concerns. She was as big as a whale and her feet had expanded by two sizes—Of course she was feeling uncomfortable. Ever since the baby had dropped a week ago, Clark had been waiting at every moment for the baby to come, but Lois had just lamented that she now had to pee again every five minutes with the added pressure on her bladder.

 

She and Jimmy looked at each other with wide eyes as Cat once again called a cab, knowing from her own experience that Lois was going to want to get to the hospital soon.

 

“Smallville!” Lois hollered.

 

Clark ran into the newsroom, glasses skewed and tie partly undone, having clearly just come back from a save. His mouth opened to ask what was wrong and froze at the puddle surrounding Lois’ feet. “Oh boy.”

 

“Oh boy is right.” Lois replied dryly, wincing as a contraction hit her. “Cat, when’s the cab getting here?”

 

“Five minutes, Lois!”

 

“Clark, call your mom and my dad and—ah!”

 

Clark lent her his hand as she squeezed it so hard, he swore that she had developed super strength. He whipped out his phone, making the required calls as Lois yelled to their editor that they’d next be back with the next star reporter.

 

The next ten hours were full of Lois cursing out an entire wing of the hospital, swearing that she would never let Clark touch her again and finally, the sound of a baby crying.

 

Lois cooed as she held their little miracle in her arms, Clark sitting behind her in the hospital bed as he watched his wife hold their daughter. The little girl’s eyes were blue, but Clark could already see that they’d be changing in a few days, hopefully matching her mother’s eyes. She had a shock of jet black hair, just like her father, and fully, pouty lips.

 

“You know, we’re going to have to name her at some point.” Clark murmured into Lois’ ear. “Our family will be here soon and you know that Perry is going to want to put an announcement in the paper.”

 

Lois chuckled. “He’s been acting like an honorary grandfather for months now.” She sighed, holding their baby girl against her chest as she rest her head back against her husband’s. The league had been more than willing to cover for Clark unless absolutely necessary in the weeks following the birth, as Clark planned on taking full advantage of the Planet’s paternity leave policy.

 

“I know you don’t put too much stock into name meaning, but I was thinking Vera.”

 

“How come?” Lois inquired.

 

“It means faith. After the… After the miscarriage, it was so hard to keep faith that we would have the baby we wanted, but then she came along. She’s the result of our faith that everything would work out like it was meant to.”

 

“Vera Ellen Kent.” Lois said aloud. “I like it. Baby Vera.”

 

“Welcome to the world, baby Vera. Mommy and Daddy love you very much and we’re going to do everything we can to give you the best life possible. As long as you don’t try to speak to Mommy before she gets her coffee.”

 

“Clark Kent!” Lois protested.

 

“What?” He chuckled. “It’s true, Lo. You aren’t a morning person.”

 

“Oh, you better hope that she doesn’t get my temper, Smallville or you’re in for a world of trouble.”

 

“Don’t worry, Lo.” He grinned, smiling down at his family. “I have a feeling that Vera’s going to have me wrapped right around her finger, just like her mother.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! I didn't go into emotions in detail because well, it was long enough as it was and I'd like some comments just because I don't really know how I feel about this piece.


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